Alice, we've done it again! Posting at the same time

So, white birch is the tea I'll be looking for?

I had recently added tomatoes back into my woe. I'll go back to being without them since that seems to be a common thread here. *sigh* No more salsa :crying:

I have some sort of a glucosamine supplement in the cabinet, I'll go check it out.

Thanks for the information

http://www.westonaprice.org/askdoctor/ask_joints.html

.....and from my favorite website, their recommendations. Again, they recommend white willow. The last time I looked at it, though, it was prohibitively expensive

I think the nettle infusion (once you try it and determine you're not allergic to it or anything) would be ok to use with other remedies. The nettles are basically a nourishing foodstuff. With the others, I suggest go slowly, don't add more than one new thing at a time, keep the total number of herbs you take in any one day to no more than four (per Susun Weed). Then it will be easier to figure out what's helping and what isn't, and what you may be having a bad reaction to.

Of course, on deciding what's working, some of the remedies take several weeks of use before improvement is noticed.

Note the non-herbal ideas, too, in the Susun Weed info.

I think chronic pain could easily be a source of adrenal stress. I think pain could cause the release of adrenaline/cortisol etc. Worth looking into!

It's awful to think of you, or anyone, walking around in chronic pain. Did the DO want you on painkillers? I know you said you can't do allopathic stuff, so I hope the herbal suggestions are helpful. As you get into the higher levels of healing as described by Weed, it seems important to have an herb-knowledgeable practitioner. Does the DO know anything about herbs? or your ND?

Gotta go now, food coop truck coming to my house today!

Alice

My ND is very good with herbal remedies. The only problem is she costs $$$.

I'll take that as sage advice and just add one thing in at a time. Fortunately, I'm very quick to respond to herbal medications.

How fun, a food co-op :cool:

Interesting.............thus the need for immune enhancing herbals like astragalus and echinacea (una de gato too or cat's paw)

This all makes me believe that the overuse of antibiotics has really messed up peoples' immune systems. I just wish mainstream medicine would do more research on candida and its relationship to the immune system. I figure if one is overrun by candida, it causes the body to constantly try to get back in balance and doesn't work efficiently on other problems. Just a theory.
Of course any allopathic doctor will tell you only aids and cancer patients get candida overgrowth. I know for a fact that is a bunch of hooey. My grandson has neither and was overrun by it in his little belly during his ordeal after being abused. The doctor asked ME if he had been on a lot of antibiotics. I said to him, he's covered with candida isn't he. He looked shocked and asked me how I knew that. (even asked me if I had a medical background!!!!) I said his mother was loaded with it and even had it in her breast milk. You could smell it in any unrinsed bottles I tripped across. Smelled like bread rising. But all they did was to put him on two types of anti-fungals. As far as I'm concerned, he's still loaded with it.

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That is such a sad story, Barb. I sure wish she'd listen to you... (((hugs)))

Well, it was my full intention to only add one thing in at a time, but I woke up in such pain in the middle of the night I had to do something! (I forgot to have dh rub my shoulders, plus it was an exceedingly stressful day!) I went to my cabinet and I found 2 things:

A glucosamine blend from TJs -- glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine hcl -- I had read that arthritis sufferers were significantly helped with it, and it was best to take 3 500 mg. caps all at once, rather than spread out through the day. (The mother nature link above.)

I also found my PSI Daytime. It is a prescription natural painkiller. I don't take it often because I don't want to become "immune" to it! Guess what it has in it, oh herby women???

Niacin (recommended for arthritis)
B6
calcium
magnesium
copper
potassium
white willow bark (!)
bromelain (I read one lady put her FM into remission by adding this and betaine hcl, fwiw)
wild yam (recommended for arthritis)
Black cohosh root (did you say this was also good for it, Alice?)
Indian Frankincense gum (recommended for arth.)
turmeric
l-glutamic acid

After laying in bed for 2 hours in pain, within just a few minutes of taking these I was feeling significantly better.

Also, I have a definite report on my OO experience yesterday! Not only did it help my overall mobility by about 40% (in one day!) I had a 4 pound woosh. :great:

Greetings, lovely herb-women,

The coop truck thing went really well. It was a gorgeous :butterfly day here yesterday, and I felt so really good all day. I got 12 bags of frozen salad shrimp, so I'm going to be doing lots of shrimp. :cook:

Speaking of $$$, doing lots of herbs is expensive. Those herbal tinctures are $8 - 10 a bottle. I'm going to be looking into growing some of my own. The tinctures I'm taking now are St. John's Wort and Motherwort and both grow well in this area. There's a huge motherwort in an alley near me, though I've never picked any - too close to exhaust fumes!

Barb - what a cool name for your shoppe - Dandelion Herb Shoppe, right? Maybe I can look over some of your books when we have our next get-together? Isn't your warehouse job seasonal? When do you get your "vacation?"

My interest in "herbology" is really blossoming after these talks. I really like Sharron's idea about studying each herb one is taking. I had a similar idea but haven't started yet - to make a page in a notebook for each herb I'm taking/have taken/ might take, and also those that could help other members of the family. My idea is to start small with the herbs that we're using and those that grow nearby, and branch out gradually.

I looked in Susun Weed to see where she puts astragalus in her ladder of nourishing/tonifying/sedating-stimulating/potentially poisonous herbs and couldn't find it. Barb - do you know of any warnings or contraindications for astragalus?

I have an herbal by Rosemary Gladstar, and she praises astragalus very highly as an immune booster able to treat long-term infections. She calls it a tonic and says the roots can be cooked in soup, so it's probably not on the potentially poisonous list!

Bye for now,

Alice

Good Morning Herb Women!!!!

I found no contraindications for astragalus in the encyclopedia, but it does have anti-clotting agents and has vaso-dilating properties, so it should be used with caution for anyone who is on Cumadin or any other blood thinning drugs. (Just theorizing here) Isnt' it fun to explore all of this? My first revelations on herbs, which began my herbal journey, were when we visited a Native American museum up in Minnesota back around 1990. They had a display of dried herbs and what they were used for. I wrote it all down in a notebook, shortly thereafter, I tripped across an herb shop in Glen Ellyn and thus began my studies in earnest. Been using ever since.

Sharron, those ingredients look really good. The bromelain is excellent for getting your digestive enzymes perked up. Bromelain comes from pineapple and is a natural digestive enzyme. I'm not real familiar with frankensence or turmeric as herbal remedies, so can't comment on those. The vitamins and minerals look good in there too.

Wild Yam is an amazing herb and is recommended for arthritis in the encyc. too. It's properties include:
Anti-bilious, Anti-catarrhal (eliminates mucous conditions), Anti-emetic (relieves nausea), Anti-inflammatory, Anti-rheumatic, Anti-spasmodic, Bitter (stimulates digestion), Blood Purifier, Carminative (relieves intestinal gas pain and distension; promotes peristalsis.), Cholagogue (stimulates bile flow), Diaphoretic (causes persperation and cleansing through skin), Diuretic, Expectorant, Hepatic (supports liver and gall bladder), Laxative, Nervine (strengthens nervous system), Relaxant, Stimilant, Stomachic (strenghtening stomach), and Tonic (strenghtening).
It has some steroidal properties, thus it's benefit for arthritis. It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure too. Helps prevent menstrual cramping also, has a tonic effect on the uterus and has been used as birth control. It has also been shown to prevent miscarriage. It has also been used for those with exhausted adrenals!!!!!!!!

Black cohosh is traditionally a female herb also. It's used to relieve headache, safe sedative, contains natural estrogen, helps with hot flashes, helps with sluggish periods, should not be taken during the first and second trimester of pregnancy, relieves inflammations, aids in blood circulation, a cardiac tonic, CAUTION TOO MUCH CAN CAUSE HEADACHES!!!!!!!!!!

I can post more later, but gotta get some stuff done around this house today.

Happy Herbing!!!!!!!!!!

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Wow. That is great!

I'm hesitant to add anything, ie. astragalus, because I've already added the OO and glucosamine (PSI formula is just "as needed".)

Thanks, also, for the warning, Barb about the black cohosh! I do treat that one with respect because it is one of the few pain killers I can take without too much worry of allergic reaction.

That wild yam sure sounds like good stuff! :great:

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HI, guys,

Grrr - internet connection bad all day yesterday, couldn't post.

Weed recommends black cohosh for arthritis by virtue of the natural steroids in its roots. Warning: don't take if you are or might be pregnant. She doesn't mention the headaches, glad Barb's book has that caution too. Wild yam is also on the natural steroid list.

Sharron, I'm so glad you found help with that herbal remedy. As Barb said, good nutritional support along with the herbs. And the proof of the pudding is the fact that it helped you sleep!!!

I had an herbal adventure yesterday. I started a bottle of mineral-rich herbal vinegar, raspberry to be specific. I have a plant of the Rubus (raspberry) genus in my backyard. I snipped leaves and stuffed into a quart jar. It was about 3/4 stuffed, so I added some raspberries 'til full. Then I poured in my good old Bragg's acv, put on a layer of plastic and tightened the lid. Let sit for six weeks.

My girl Susun calls this stuff "Old Sour Puss Mineral Mix" and says it is calcium-rich.

Bye now,

Alice

Oh, Alice! That sounds fabulous! Can you imagine the amazing salad dressings you are going to make with that??? A "prescription in a bowl!"

I can't tell you ladies how much better I am feeling. I started the OO, to which I've added a 3 3/4" loss today, and the glucosamine blend. I also took some of teh "PSI" during the night. The other thing is that I'm using melaleuca on my neck and back and it is helping tremendously... so much so that I signed up with the company!

I haven't heard from the library about my books yet, though at least one of them just needed to be transported to my branch for pick-up.

RE: Herb shops. We had one in our town, but it looked "disreputable" -- like a hang out for drug users and it is closing anyway. I think there might be another one in the general area, but it would be completely across the city (45 minutes away) to get there. I wish I had Barb's Dandelion Shop nearby

OH Sharron, I LOVE Melaleuca!!!! I am a member. I LOVE the oil and what's really cool about it is you can use medicinally AND you can clean tile mastic off a putty knife TOO!!!! How cool is that???!!! Their products are pure, reliable and guaranteed. Their household cleaning products don't contain any fermaldahyde or any other NON-biodegradable ingredients. THE BEST!!!!! If you EVER find a shop that sells Nature's Sunshine Herbs, go for it. They use the purest materials on earth and run their raw herbs through 125 (or something like that) tests for purity. These cost a bit more, but if you do the wholesale thing, it's a lot cheaper. (Or preferred customer)

I'll try to dig up those tapes this weekend!!!!

Glad you are finding some relief.

Alice, that sounds exquisite. I have been brewing my own vanilla in a bottle of vodka. I haven't tried it yet, but it should be almost ready. I think I will add stevia to it. YUM!!!!!

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MMM, yes, it's hard to wait six weeks to try the vinegar!! It will remind me of summer for sure.

I have a friend who sells melaleuca products. That's tea tree oil, right? My dh uses the essential oil when he has itchy insect bites, it really helps.

I'm out of my St. John's Wort tincture, so I need to go to the herb shop. The one you describe sure sounds "colorful," Sharron. The one near me is so lovely. They have a large space and it's so light and airy and beautiful inside. Smells divine, too. I've just started to get to know the people who work there. I bought a book there called "Dangerous Grains," and the one man told me how he thinks grains are right up there with sugar as the worst things one can eat. Very paleo, a man after my own heart. Most of the herbalists I'm reading are very vegetarian-oriented, so this was so refreshing!

Alice

That's so cool Barb :cool:

Yes, tea tree oil. Amazing stuff!

Colorful actually wouldn't be the right word because they always dress in and dye their hair BLACK!



I'm back to mostly avoiding grains. I'll allow 1 thing on the weekends if there is something I want to join the family in, but I'm trying to keep it "whole." It is nice to see a non-veg herby person